‘The Voice’ Season 27 Episode 10 recap: John Legend pushes his steal button for nearly-eliminated artist who ‘exudes star power’

The Voice Season 27 continued the third stage of the competition on Monday with the second installment of "Knockouts" performances. In this round, each coach will set four head-to-head matchups from their team and will be forced to choose only four winners. While they won't be able to save any of the losers from their own team, each coach will have a Steal to bring a loser from another team with them to "The Playoffs." By the end of the round's 16 performances, 20 artists will remain in the competition.

One hallmark of this round is that the artists get to choose their own song to perform rather than have it selected by their coach, as was done in the "Battles." Another is that without guest mentors assisting during rehearsals, it's the first time that John Legend, Kelsea Ballerini, Michael Bublé and Adam Levine get to work one-on-one with the artists on their team.

SEE 'The Voice' showrunner Audrey Morrissey wants Adele as a coach: 'She would slay'

Team Bublé

For the first performances tonight, Michael pitted Divighn against Kaiya Hamilton for a knockout between two soul-pop singers he wanted to see go toe-to-toe. Divighn chose to sing "Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5 because, like Adam, he has been the lead singer of a Top 40 band. Looking to make a name for himself, Divighn branched out on his own, but until now, he hasn't been discovered. Kaiya went with "Here" by Alessia Cara because she related to not "fitting in" when she was a teenager. Michael said the win "will come down to whoever delivers the coolest performance."

After the two performances, John reminded everyone "this is a vocal competition," but added that it's important to honor people like Divighn, who has a "compelling" stage presence. He said Kaiya sang "her butt off" and Michael could go either way. Adam jokingly complimented Divighn's taste in music, but sincerely commended the singer for transforming his song. Adam enjoyed Kaia's vocal, but preferred Divighn's overall performance. Kelsea said that Kaiya made her appreciate the song "Here" even more than she did before. She then told Divighn that his cover of "Harder to Breathe" is "the only way to do it." In the end, Michael said he made a mistake by putting these two together, but chose Kaiya as the winner because "she just gave the best vocal performance."

Team Legend

In the night's second Knockout, John paired powerhouse Bryson Battle with country singer Tatum Scott. John urged Tatum to show more range in her voice while she rehearsed "Stick Season" by Noah Kahan, but agreed it was the perfect song choice. Bryson chose Aretha Franklin's classic soul ballad, "Ain't No Way," because he enjoys taking on "one of the hardest songs to sing." John was happy to hear Bryson nail all the notes, but told the singer if he lowered the key it "would sound a little bit richer."

After both singer's performed, Adam noted that "it couldn't have been two more different people doing different things." The coach compared Bryson to Jordan Smith, who won Season 9, which bodes well for him in this competition. Adam then encouraged Tatum, saying Bryson would "smoke me" vocally too, but there was no clear winner or loser. Kelsea said Bryson's voice is "one in a million" and Tatum gave her best performance on the show. Michael thanked both artists for allowing him to sit there and be "completely taken away." In the end, John chose Bryson as the winner because "he has range, he has soul, and does it in a way that looks effortless."

Team Adam

In the night's final Knockout, Adam squared off Ari Camille and Britton Moore because he had no other choice but to put "good people against good people." Ari chose "Love Like This" by Faith Evans because she grew up listening to the song and it brings people together. To help Ari deal with her nerves, Adam reminded the singer, "No matter what, there is no consequence that is bad enough that you need to worry about it. If you miss a note you're not going to get dropped into a pit of lions." Britton went with "Free" by Zac Brown Band because he's from Texas and "country music is in my heart." Adam instructed the artist to "pull that microphone to your face" so people could hear his powerful voice.

After both performances, Kelsea said that every note Britton sings is "crisp and perfect" and she loves Ari's energy on stage. Michael complimented the "youthful beauty" in Britton's voice and said he won that Knockout. John called Ari's performance his favorite of hers so far and told Britton he's pitch perfect. In the end, Adam chose Britton as the winner of this Knockout because of his "amazing control" and ability to "sing for the fences." Before Ari could be ushered off stage, she was stolen by John who said, "She exudes star power," as he welcomed her back to Team Legend with open arms.

By the end of Episode 10, one other knockout decided who would advance. Kelsea stuck with Alanna Lynise on "I'll Never Love Again" by Lady Gaga over Page Mackenzie (whose performance wasn't shown).

The updated teams are:

TEAM LEGEND — Ari Camille, BD.ii, Bryson Battle, Jacquelyn George, Nell Simmons, Olivia Kuper Harris, Renzo

TEAM BUBLÉ — Adam David, Angie Rey, Barry Jean Fontenot, Carlos Santiago, Jadyn Cree, Kaiya Hamilton, Kameron Jaso

TEAM KELSEA — Alanna Lynise, Hailey Wright, Iris Herrera, Jaelen Johnston, Tinika Wyatt

TEAM ADAM — Britton Moore, Conor James, Darius J, Ethan Eckenroad, Kolby Cordell, Lucia Flores-Wiseman

The four-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition series The Voice is in its 27th season featuring five stages of competition: Blind Auditions, Battle Rounds, Knockouts, Playoffs and Live Performance Shows. In the coaches' chairs, Michael is the defending champion after winning Season 26. He is joined by John, in his 10th season, and Kelsea, competing for the first time. Adam rejoined the panel of coaches for his 17th season after taking a hiatus following Season 16.